Capital Income Advisors
Knowing that we can do something as an industry to improve investor trust should be all the evidence needed to make it happen.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (PRWEB) March 24, 2016
Jeremy Keating of Capital Income Advisors (CIA) has announced “The Retirement Formula: The Retiree’s Guide to What You Don’t Know” approach to helping older residents in the San Diego area learn to navigate financial industry jargon, technical concepts and complicated industry standards in order to empower them to make the best decisions for their retirement plans.
Rather than simply telling retirees and pre-retirees what to avoid and who to hire, Keating believes people can run into trouble when it comes time to hire a retirement advisor if they don’t have an understanding of some basic industry standards and strategies to make knowledge-based decisions to protect their nest eggs.
“We all know that it’s what we don’t know that can hurt us,” Keating says. “But many older people actually fear financial advisors, and I think at least a part of that comes from a lack of trust rooted in a lack of understanding what they’re signing up for.
“In my experience, the more a client knows about their own retirement needs and how to find an advisor they can trust, the less likely they are to be taken advantage of,” he says.
According to Keating, individuals who recognize the difference between the fiduciary standard and the suitability standard are already one step ahead when it comes to finding a trusted advisor. Understanding the difference between the two may be the most important thing a person should know about the advisor or broker they want to work with.
Brokers and advisors who operate under the suitability standard offer investment products that are provided by the companies they represent. They are paid commissions calculated as a percentage of the amount of money the client initially invests in the product. The advice may or may not be the best advice for a client’s given situation or investment objective, which means that advisors can only be held responsible if the products they recommend are found not suitable for the client. In other words, “suiitablility” does not obligate the advisor to act in the client’s best interest, but simply not to sell them products that can be proven to be inappropriate for their financial needs.
An advisor operating under the fiduciary standard must present, by law, the “best advice” he or she can give, taking into consideration the needs, wants and objectives of the individual. The client’s needs and personal objectives must come first. Fiduciaries are bound by law to act in their clients’ best interests.
For the past few years, the Department of Labor (DOL) has been pushing a new fiduciary rule that would require all advisers who oversee assets in retirement plans to adhere to a strict fiduciary standard, a move to protect retirees who are vulnerable to being sold investment products that do not reflect the client’s best interests for financial well-being.
The proposed Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) standard has been stalled repeatedly as the brokerage industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to push against it, claiming the new uniform higher standard would be detrimental to the economics of broker-dealers and would reduce Americans’ access to investment advice.
Uniform fiduciary rule proponents argue that a higher standard inherently helps retirees by setting a standard that protects their assets from predatory investment brokers.
“Knowing that we can do something as an industry to improve investor trust should be all the evidence needed to make it happen,” Keating says. “To avoid passing a rule that will hold all advisors responsible for their clients’ nest eggs to the same fiduciary standard does a serious disservice to them and to the financial industry.”
In the meantime, Keating says that retirees who arm themselves with a basic understanding of retirement income and investment principles will fare best in selecting an advisor who will act in their best interests.
For more information, visit the Capital Income Advisors website, email jkeating(at)capitalincomeadvisors(dot)com, or call (800) 875-1986.
About Capital Income Advisors:
The primary focus at Capital Income Advisors is retirement planning. Jeremy Keating and the CIA team of advisors treat their clients as they would treat members of their own family. CIA strives to help create sound retirement income strategies for men and women in or nearing retirement, thereby instilling confidence that their retirement income will last as long as they do.
Capital Income Advisors serve all of Northern and Southern California, all across Texas including, Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Midland, and the New York Tri State area. CIA offers retirement income strategies, wealth accumulation, asset protection, annuities, life insurance, tax minimization strategies, long-term care, IRA and 401(k) rollovers.
Securities offered through Securities America, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Arbor Point Advisors LLC. Capital Income Advisors, Securities America, Inc., and Arbor Point Advisors LLC are separate entities.
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